Media Relations: Conducting a media tour

This week we’re going to focus on media relations, a core activity of any public relations strategy. Today, I would love to talk about how to conduct a media tour. Media tours are a great way to introduce yourself – and your client – to those who might help share your brand’s stories.

I recently conducted a media tour in Charleston, S.C. for our client, Loggerhead Apparel, and it was a great success. In fact, we received lots of great media coverage almost immediately after the tour.

So how do you conduct a media tour? Simply follow the steps below.

Research area publications that would be a good fit for your client. Make sure that editors you include on your media tour cover topics that you can relate to your brand.

Reach out to specific editors to see if they will join you for a quick meeting. Offer to meet them at a local coffee shop, or their office if they are on deadline.

Follow-up with editors who don’t respond.Polite persistence is key – and is actually how I was able to get coverage with an editor who wasn’t able to meet with me.

Refresh yourself the day before your meetings on any recent articles or blog posts the editors have written. This will provide great talking points – and show the editors that you pay attention to the content they share.

Get to know the editors you are meeting and don’t make the conversation all about your client. The purpose of a media tour is to get to know editors and form a friendship, so that you can provide them with relevant stories in the most effective way. This will go a long way in forming relationships.

Follow-up after your meetings with personal thank you notes. This is a great way to keep the conversation about your client going – and to show appreciation for the editors’ time.

Again, conducting a media tour is a great way to introduce yourself and your client to editors who might help share your brand’s story. What are your thoughts on the subject?